Copper

In 3D printing, wall thickness refers to the distance between one surface of your model and the opposite sheer surface. For most models in Copper, the minimum wall thickness you can use is 0.8 mm. However, when making something small such as the band of a ring, the wall thickness should be at least 1 mm. The fragility of the Copper might cause the ring to break when you wear it if the model is too thin.

The resolution of the wax printing process is very high, so make sure you create and export your model with enough definition that you don’t see the triangles from your original design.

Be careful if large areas of your model are connected or supported by thin rods. Ask yourself if the rods are strong enough to “carry” the weight of the larger area. Think of it as a big head resting on a thin neck. It is possible to print internal structures with Copper; however, removing support structures, cleaning them and casting them can be difficult or even impossible. If you have doubts about whether your model is printable, please contact us.

This material allows you to print hollow models. However, keep in mind that you need to incorporate multiple holes or slots so that we can get rid of any unprinted wax resin. In addition, you will need to make sure that the casting plaster is sufficiently supported or your model will not be able to be cast properly. Make as many holes or slots as you possible can. We recommend making two or more holes or slots. Make sure the holes are spread out equally; for example on opposite ends of your design. The holes should have a diameter larger than 1.5 mm.

The smallest features in your design should be at least 0.35 mm in diameter and 0.4 mm in height and attached to a solid surface. Details this small are suitable for delicate projects such as micro pavé settings.

Because Copper is not a very strong material, longer features such as rods or prongs (in mesh-like structures) should be at least 0.8 mm in diameter or else they might break during casting or even when you wear the piece.

The distance or space between two or more parts in your model is called clearance. If there is too little clearance between the parts, they might become fused during the casting of your model. Your model is first printed in wax, placed in a container, and covered in a liquid plaster. Then the wax is burned out, creating a cavity in the now-hardened plaster, leaving a plaster mold ready for casting. If the gap between the different parts in your model is too small, the plaster may not fully flow in or may create overly-thin walls in the mold that break when liquid metal is poured in. Both of these will result in defects in your casted model. Therefore, we advise a minimum gap of 0.3mm. If it is impossible to increase the gap in your design, you can consider fusing the features if their separation is unnecessary.

In order to polish your model, we have to be able to reach its surfaces. As a rule, we can't file, sand or polish cavities, and small sharp edges will be rounded off. You can also imagine that complex, internal, and mesh-like structures are impossible to reach.

Nested objects (objects floating within another object), hinged parts, and interlinking parts such as chains, cannot be made with lost wax casting as support structures have to be removed before your model can be cast in Copper.

For embossing or engraving details such as text, we advise you to keep a maximum height/depth-to-width ratio of 1:1. Also, keep in mind the minimum wall thickness of 0.35 mm.